Cultivator



(No Model.) 1 2 sheets-sheet 1. B. P. BERGER. GULTIVATDB..

110.401.114. Patented Apr. 9, 1889.

@5w/imams (No M odel.) v 2 Sheets-Sheet 2,

WVM/Lames UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BENJAMIN F. BERGER, OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA.

CU LTIVATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 401,114, dated April 9, '1889. Application led July 23, 1888. Serial No. 280,753. (No model.)

To all wtont it may concern:

Be it known that I, BENJAMIN F. BERGER, of South Bend, in the county of St. Joseph and State of Indiana, have invented 'certain new and useful Improvements in Cultivators; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which forni part of this specification, in Which- Figure l is a top plan view of my improved cultivator. Fig. 2 is a side View thereof, showing the same raised. Fig. 3 is a rear View. Fig. et is a detail sectional view of the lockinghinge joint of the tongue enlarged. Figs. 5, 6, and are details. This invention relates to cultivators; and its object is to provide an improved Wheelcultivator in which the gang of cultivators can be raised or lowered at thewill of the operator and the parts adjusted so as to keep the cultivators in the same plane, and in which lateral swinging of the gang of cultivators 'is prevented.

The invention consists in the novel construction 0f the carrying-frame and cultivatorgang frame, and the .adjusting locking-hin ge devices for the tongue-sections, and the attachments of the cultivator-gang frame to the carrying-frame, all of which will be understood from the detailed description and claims following.

In the accompanying drawings, A represents the carrying-frame, composed of two side bars, a a, and intermediate tongue-bar, B, connected at their front ends by a transverse bar, b, and at rearby the axle C', which is preferably of metal, and has crank-bends c c at its opposite ends, upon the short horizout-al portions of which are mounted the axleskeins and Wheels, so that the frame A will stand above the hubs of the Wheels, as shown.

D represents the front section of the tongue, which is attached to part B by a locking-hinge joint, B', which is preferably constructed as follows:

E is a plate, perforated at e e, near its opposite ends, and having projecting inwardlystanding flanges F F, as shown. Plate E is attached to the rearof section D by a throughbolt, f, its iianges F F partly embracing the sides of said section. The other end of plate E is similarly attached to part B by a bolt, G.

H is a rack-plate, having iianges k on its sides, which embrace part B, to which plate H is attached directly opposite plate E. The outer face of plate I-I is provided at its opposite ends with racks I I, and it has a central conical openin g, t', through which passes bolt G.

J is a spring-plate about equal in length to plate F., and having flanges j j at one end, embracing section D opposite plate E, being attached to said section by bolt f, as shown. Plate J is bent at to permit its end K to stand outside rack-plate H, and the inner face of part K is provided With racks L Il, corresponding to and opposite racks I I, and with a central conical perforated boss, l, through which passes bolt G, upon which bolt is engaged a hand-nut, g, as shown. The plates E and .I form a hinge-joint between parts B D of the tongue, so that section D, which is the guide portion of the tongue, can be vertically adj usted in relation to part B to accommodate different heights of draft-animals, and When so adjusted the parts can be locked by tightening nut g, which forces the racks L into engagement With racks I, the conical boss Z entering the conical opening in plate H and insuring the proper engagement of the racks. When nut g is loosened, the resiliency of plate .I will cause it to disengage plate H.

M designates the frame upon Which the gang of cultivators is mounted. This frame is preferably made of metal, and is of general rectangular form, one of its side bars, mi, being longer, however, than the opposite side bar, m; and N is a diagonal bar connected to the rear portions of side bars, m m. n is the front connecting-bar, and 'n' is an intermediate bar connecting the center of bar N with bar n, as shown. O is a shovel-standard attached to bar m. o o are similar shovelstandards attached to opposite sides of bar n', and o o are standards attached on opposite sides of bar m, the gang of cultivatorstandards being in line With bar N, as shown.

Frame M is connected to and suspended from frame A by means of four rigid links, P P, as shown, which are arranged in pairs at opposite sides of the frame, and are pivotally IOO ` frame M andthe cultivator-gang can be suspended from frame Aor lowered to work. A

seat, S, is mounted on frame A in position to allow the driver to operate arm q.

The link-connections of frames A and M prevent lateral swaying of the cultivator-gang thereon, as the links are rigid, andthe arm Q and links B insure the lifting of the shovels from the ground simultaneously and with a backward movement, readily disengaging them from the ground. It is necessary when the cultivator is employed with teams of different heights to adjust the tongue, which can be readily done, as described, so as to set the shovels to work evenly and equally. Vithout y this adj ustability of the tongue ,the link-suspended cultivators would Work unevenly, but

-with it they can all be made to cut equally in to the earth with anyheight of draft-animals. Having described my invent-ion, I claimcharacter described, of the rectangular carrying-frame A, having tongue-section B, and the ton gu e-section D, adj ustably connected to part- B by an adjusting locking-hinge, wit-h the frame M and the cultivator-gang attached to said frame, the chain R crank-rod Q, lever q, and cranked axle C, all substantially as and for the purpose specied.

3. The herein-described locking-hinge joint, consisting of the plate E, the opposite plate, H, having racks I I cn its outer face, and the spring-*plate J, having racks L L, the bolt f and bolt G, and hand-nut g, all constructed and adapted to operate substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I affix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

BENJAMIN F. BERGER.

Witnesses:

JAMES DU SHANE, JEANIE ANDERSON. 

